Predicting the Effects of Changing Living Patterns on Residential Water Requirements

The residential component of urban water consumption is divided into in-house usage and lawn water usage and these are modelled deterministically. The in-house model is described and information from surveys is presented for residence characteristics such as population and appliance ownership and frequencies of use. The models are applied to the Townsville urban area to predict future water requirements for several possible scenarios of appliance ownership and lawn size and watering patterns. The models are quite general and can be applied to any community for which appropriate data can be obtained.